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sexta-feira, 18 de março de 2011

The Okinawan White Crane

There is an Okinawan tradition inside some schools of karate that cultivate the White Crane style, an old Chinese system used as complement by some karate schools. Its forms were preserved but not the kenpo system. Tradition says that these forms were transmitted by GoKenki, the Chinese tea trader that established in Naha, around 1912. He was a very influent teacher that helped Miyagi, Mabuni, Kyoda, Matayoshi (the father), Motobu (Choyu), Higa Seiko, Nakaima Kenko, and others masters in the 20's..

Crane style (He Quan) is a variant of the Monk Fist syle (Lohan Quan), a generic designation for Shaolin boxing (Shorin/Shuri ou Shorei/Naha).

In the Goju-ryu/Shoreiji-ryu - Naha-te systems - the tradition was preserved in the Higa Seiko/Izumigawa Kanki's dojo.

I learned crane katas from Higa lineage, supposedly passed on by Juei Tamashiro in the Izumigawa's dojo. They are: Kakufa (Tsuru-ho), Hakkaku (ou Hakutsuru/Tsuru-no-te). Other kata from this tradition is the Lohan Nepai.